2yo from the not-so-hot Steve Knapp barn had worked a furlong in 10.0 at the March Barrett's sale, one tick off the show's best, which was accomplished by only one horse. Went off @ 8/1 here and was off a bit slowly after hitting the side of the gate, but moved up well to assume a stalking position along the rail while behind horses and clearly full of run. Pretty much remained there until midstretch when he was visibly crying out for some running room before finally splitting horses and coming after the leader, who had already gotten away at that point. Did very well to be beaten just a half-length at the wire after really finding his stride late and cutting quickly into the margin with every jump. Shouldn't be a maiden for long.
Noticed that this one is entered again today - Del Mar R2.
Got up well over 5 1/2F last time ... Runs over 6F today.
Not yet had a close look to see who this one is up against ... won't get a chance to take a look at the rest of the field until a short while before the race starts.
Gallant Gent ran second by a neck today. Tough beat.
I gave this filly out today; here's what i had to say about her on my website:
Saratoga - Race 4
#8 Sure as Gold (7/2 ml)
Expensive 2yo purchase for Pletcher brought over 20 times the sire's stud fee at the April Keeneland sale after working a furlong in 10.0, one tick off the show's best. She's also coming out of a heads-up drill with Ibboyee, who won a maiden race in 110.3 back on August 3. Looks very live here, and should be a decent price thanks to the half-sister to Speightstown who's coming out of the McLaughlin barn (who btw has been terrible with 2yo firsters at the meet).
In the race today, Sure as Gold blew the start and was off several lengths last, but then showed a good burst of speed while being rushed up to join the pack. She settled near the back once that was over, and then started making another fine move while coming widest of all around the turn to mount a challenge into the lane, grinding away late to finish second by a length. Considering she lost well over a length at the break, and had to use up some early energy while being rushed back into contention after the gate incident, it's rather obvious she was best here. And that was just my initial impression; the gate incident looks even worse on the head-on replay, where you can see that she took a complete right-hand turn leaving the gate and was headed for the outer rail. She was seperated from the rest of the field by literally about half the racetrack shortly after leaving the gate. Time of the race was slow, but clearly there's more under the hood here than it will look like on paper the next time she's entered.
2yo firster got body-slammed leaving the gate, knocked inward and taken up by the rider to wind up dead-last early, then started making a very sharp middle move about halfway up the backstretch to start coming after the leaders. Was taken up by the rider a SECOND time when trying to swing to the outside from behind a wall of horses on the turn, coming widest of all into the lane and still 7-8 lengths behind in this short 5.5-furlong affair. Really turned it on again big-time once straightened away, and came roaring down the stretch to just get up by a head at the wire. So much the best here it wasn't even funny. Granted, it was a very poor maiden-claiming field, but this horse has stakes-type ability and figures to be moving right up the ladder. Very nice prospect.
Just ran across this article on Gallant Gent on the DRF website:
POMONA, Calif. - Trainer Craig Lewis will be a busy man Wednesday at Fairplex Park, where his six entrants include a potential single in a pick six with a carryover of $44,782.
Gallant Gent, runner-up last month in a good allowance at Del Mar, is favored to win the $50,000 C.B. Afflerbaugh, a seven-furlong stakes for 2-year-olds that is race 10 on an 11-race card. So is Gallant Gent a single?
"He hasn't done anything to disappoint me so far," Lewis said. "We think he's a good horse. We'll find out."
The evidence is in already. Lewis claimed Gallant Gent for $40,000 from a July 3 debut at Hollywood Park in which he overcame significant trouble to win by a neck.
He subsequently won a maiden-40 starter at Del Mar before finishing second by a head in a first-level allowance. Gallant Gent got beat by Court Mischief, who returned Saturday to finish second in a stakes at Golden Gate. Did the runner-up finish by Court Mischief flatter Gallant Gent?
"Unequivocally," Lewis said. "It was [Court Mischief's] first race around two turns, he went fairly quick, and got beat by an undefeated horse," referring to Our Minesweeper.
Court Mischief earned an 80 Beyer, which validates the 80 earned by Gallant Gent.
Martin Pedroza rides Gallant Gent in the Afflerbaugh, formerly a stakes for older horses at 1 1/16 miles. The conditions of the Afflerbaugh have changed, along with the Fairplex 2-year-old program, now geared exclusively to sprints.
Gallant Gent worked a sharp five furlongs Sept. 10 at Fairplex and is the 8-5 favorite on the track's preliminary line. His main rival could be Grace Upon Grace, runner-up in the Graduation Stakes July 29 at Del Mar before adding front wraps and finishing fifth on Sept. 7. David Flores rides Grace Upon Grace.
Other Afflerbaugh contenders include Ishmael, claimed for $62,500 off a maiden win by trainer John Sadler, and Color of Courage, two lengths behind Gallant Gent last out. The longshots are Towser, Swiss Exploit, and Pico Pico.
Lewis entered the 2009 Los Angeles County Fair meet as the seventh all-time leading Fairplex trainer with 75 wins. His other entrants Wednesday include Warren's Cowgirl, an also-eligible in race 2; Dine at Nine, even money in race 3; longshots Deluxe Cat in race 5 and Easy Moment in race 8; and 7-2 second choice Balfour Park in race 9.
2yo firster from the obscure Mark Glatt barn had worked the fastest furlong @ the Barrett's sale earlier this year, but went off at a juicy 8/1 here, due mostly to the connections. Unfortunately, he got body-slammed from both sides when leaving the gate and ended up way back off the early pace as a result. Showed a lot of moxy thereafter when making his way towards the front while racing inside, eventually coming to challenge for the lead at the top of the stretch but still being caught down inside and behind horses, having to wait a bit before he could get into the clear. Once out into the open, the winner had gotten away from him, but he was able to re-break and outfinish another horse for second (who happened to be a well-bet Baffert entrant). Ran a heckuva good race here, and after sticking around to watch the head-on replay it was pretty easy to determine that Brady Blue Eyes had been best. Could still offer a very nice price next time out, as he was beaten about 3 lengths at the wire and it'll look as if he doesn't have much speed on paper (and of course Mark Glatt will help the price as well). Should show much-improved speed with any kind of clean break next time out, and will likely be pretty tough to beat. Keep an eye out for him.
This comes straight from my website. He's entered today but i don't know if he's running; all Belmont races are off the turf. Scratches haven't been announced yet.
Belmont - Race 9
#3 Mr. Vegas (12/1 ml)
I must be seeing things with this morning line. Simply unreal. Yet another case of Beyers not telling the whole story. I honestly haven't seen many debuts better than this one. The trouble started as soon as the gates opened, as he was broke VERY slowy, then he was being steadied repeatedly while in tight as he tried to make his way through the crowd on his way up the backstretch (having already made up the lost early ground to regain touch with the pack). Never did get any room to run, at all, though you could see that Prado clearly had a ton of horse under him as he helplessly waited for an opening. I already knew the horse had won the race when i was watching this replay for the first time, and i sat here in front of my computer at the top of the stretch wondering just how in the hell he did it (didn't seem possible at the time). Finally around midstretch a small hole opened, and Prado shifted this guy pretty sharply out into the open thru another pretty tight spot, and then you could really appreciate this horse as he took off like a shot after the leaders. Still looked to be in pretty bad shape in deep stretch but he basically just put his head down and bulled his way right thru the two leaders like they were just a minor inconvenience. Reminded my of Lit De Justice a bit, and that's saying something. I know i'm being effusive in my praise here, but like i said, i was very excited by what i saw. Just looked like a man among boys out there. Speaking of which, he's a pretty big horse with what looked to be a very large stride, though he never really got to show it off too much. Didn't look like today's extra distance will be any kind of problem for him, quite the contrary in fact. Pretty tough stretchout here from 5.5 furlongs to 1 1/16 miles, especially considering the class jump, but i'm confident he's the best horse in the race, and like i said i think he may be even better going long. And anything resembling a clean trip won't hurt him either. Lastly, the turf course was listed as "good" when he ran, so i would have to assume the course had some water in it, though the opening quarter looks awfully fast to have been run on any kind of soft ground. It would seem to help his case here, as there's no doubt the course will be a little soft here (perhaps a lot soft), assuming they keep the race on the grass at all. Tempted to call this play turf-only, but i'd be lying if i said i wasn't going to back him on whatever surface he runs on today. Besides, if the race comes off the grass and Hushion thinks it's a problem, he'll likely be scratched anyway (UPDATE: just checked on the Belmont website and the race is indeed off the grass. No word on scratches yet). Hope they get the race into this guy because i think he may be the Juvenile Turf winner. Perhaps even the Juvenile winner, who knows. Obviously, i HIGHLY recommend watching the replay. He broke from the 2-hole but he's wearing saddlecloth #1. Have a look, and enjoy.
Yeah, i know. Was going to mention that here but i wanted everyone to see the Mr. Vegas post first.
Mr. Vegas is now scratched, btw. Son of a bitch.
As for Gallant Gent, it's a very tough spot for him today, but maybe he's up to it. God Knows he wouldn't come as much of a shock. I'm personally going in another direction, but i'll use Gallant Gent in an exacta for sure. Figures to pay very well if it comes in. And i'm off to a good start with exactas today, lol.
Cat your horse(Brady Blue Eyes) is running in the last race at Santa Anita on Saturday!!!!! What kind of odds do you think they will put on him....I will bet him either way!!! Just a FYI Thanks for all of your watch lists......
Hard to say, because i don't know what his competition looks like yet. He's already been flattered though as Macias (the horse he outfinished for second last time) came back to score an impressive win last week. Should be tough vs. pretty much any kind of field.
2yo firster from the obscure Mark Glatt barn had worked the fastest furlong @ the Barrett's sale earlier this year, but went off at a juicy 8/1 here, due mostly to the connections. Unfortunately, he got body-slammed from both sides when leaving the gate and ended up way back off the early pace as a result. Showed a lot of moxy thereafter when making his way towards the front while racing inside, eventually coming to challenge for the lead at the top of the stretch but still being caught down inside and behind horses, having to wait a bit before he could get into the clear. Once out into the open, the winner had gotten away from him, but he was able to re-break and outfinish another horse for second (who happened to be a well-bet Baffert entrant). Ran a heckuva good race here, and after sticking around to watch the head-on replay it was pretty easy to determine that Brady Blue Eyes had been best. Could still offer a very nice price next time out, as he was beaten about 3 lengths at the wire and it'll look as if he doesn't have much speed on paper (and of course Mark Glatt will help the price as well). Should show much-improved speed with any kind of clean break next time out, and will likely be pretty tough to beat. Keep an eye out for him.
Brady Blue Eyes (off @ 4/1) indeed showed much-improved speed yesterday, going right out to the front and the opening up a nice lead into the lane, but unfortunately he got tired and couldn't hang on.
I gave this filly out today; here's what i had to say about her on my website:
Saratoga - Race 4
#8 Sure as Gold (7/2 ml)
Expensive 2yo purchase for Pletcher brought over 20 times the sire's stud fee at the April Keeneland sale after working a furlong in 10.0, one tick off the show's best. She's also coming out of a heads-up drill with Ibboyee, who won a maiden race in 110.3 back on August 3. Looks very live here, and should be a decent price thanks to the half-sister to Speightstown who's coming out of the McLaughlin barn (who btw has been terrible with 2yo firsters at the meet).
In the race today, Sure as Gold blew the start and was off several lengths last, but then showed a good burst of speed while being rushed up to join the pack. She settled near the back once that was over, and then started making another fine move while coming widest of all around the turn to mount a challenge into the lane, grinding away late to finish second by a length. Considering she lost well over a length at the break, and had to use up some early energy while being rushed back into contention after the gate incident, it's rather obvious she was best here. And that was just my initial impression; the gate incident looks even worse on the head-on replay, where you can see that she took a complete right-hand turn leaving the gate and was headed for the outer rail. She was seperated from the rest of the field by literally about half the racetrack shortly after leaving the gate. Time of the race was slow, but clearly there's more under the hood here than it will look like on paper the next time she's entered.
Sure as Gold is entered in Race 2 @ Belmont today.
I know, i couldn't believe that price. Textbook definition of dead-on-the-board. Note that Gomez was jumping off of him to ride the winner Gayego, btw.
I was on the second-place finisher Crown of Thorns (8/1). Here's the write-up from my website:
Santa Anita - Race 8
#6 Crown of Thorns (5/1 ml)
Loved this horse as an early-season 3yo last year (thought he was perhaps the top Derby threat at the time), but i have to be honest and say that i gave him virtually zero chance to win his comeback race last time out when racing 6 furlongs vs. the exceptionally strong sprinters Supreme Summit and M One Rifle. I was then shocked at how well this guy ran (finishing third behind the other two, but only beaten just over a length at the wire). Watching the replay again this morning, i was probably most impressed by the way he gave away ground (to a couple of very good horses) while stalking from the rail and then swinging wide into the stretch, basically trying to circle those two. He then matched strides with Supreme Summit down the lane, even starting to close the gap very late and missing by less than a length to that guy after Supreme Summit had enjoyed the much preferable trip. It also serves to reason that Crown of Thorns will be much tighter for this one than he was for the comeback race, which came after a 19-month layoff. He also seems to possess the currently-preferable come from behind running style, and the pace should be hot up front. Not much separating this guy from Supreme Summit of course, and it's worth noting that Supreme Summit improved nicely in his previous second-start-off-the-bench, but i think Crown of Thorns will offer the better price here and perhaps has even more room to improve than does Supreme Summit. There's also some chance that Supreme Summit could be compromised up front, depending on how close Migliore puts him (also note that Gomez jumps off Supreme Summit to ride Gayego here). Mandella has already mentioned a potential BC Dirt Mile start for Crown of Thorns, so it would seem he's expecting another good effort today. So am i. Slight edge in what looks like a pretty contentious race; definite value here.
I know, i couldn't believe that price. Textbook definition of dead-on-the-board. Note that Gomez was jumping off of him to ride the winner Gayego, btw.
I was on the second-place finisher Crown of Thorns (8/1). Here's the write-up from my website:
Santa Anita - Race 8
#6 Crown of Thorns (5/1 ml)
Loved this horse as an early-season 3yo last year (thought he was perhaps the top Derby threat at the time), but i have to be honest and say that i gave him virtually zero chance to win his comeback race last time out when racing 6 furlongs vs. the exceptionally strong sprinters Supreme Summit and M One Rifle. I was then shocked at how well this guy ran (finishing third behind the other two, but only beaten just over a length at the wire). Watching the replay again this morning, i was probably most impressed by the way he gave away ground (to a couple of very good horses) while stalking from the rail and then swinging wide into the stretch, basically trying to circle those two. He then matched strides with Supreme Summit down the lane, even starting to close the gap very late and missing by less than a length to that guy after Supreme Summit had enjoyed the much preferable trip. It also serves to reason that Crown of Thorns will be much tighter for this one than he was for the comeback race, which came after a 19-month layoff. He also seems to possess the currently-preferable come from behind running style, and the pace should be hot up front. Not much separating this guy from Supreme Summit of course, and it's worth noting that Supreme Summit improved nicely in his previous second-start-off-the-bench, but i think Crown of Thorns will offer the better price here and perhaps has even more room to improve than does Supreme Summit. There's also some chance that Supreme Summit could be compromised up front, depending on how close Migliore puts him (also note that Gomez jumps off Supreme Summit to ride Gayego here). Mandella has already mentioned a potential BC Dirt Mile start for Crown of Thorns, so it would seem he's expecting another good effort today. So am i. Slight edge in what looks like a pretty contentious race; definite value here.
I boxed Supreme Summit/Gayego/Crown of Thorns and played a small win wager on SS. Nice write up on CoT. He did look very good on his return. Should be a major player in the sprint ranks again soon.
I don't think Mandella considers Crown of Thorns a sprinter per se. The allowance against M One Rifle and Supreme Summit was just a comeback race for him, and as best as i could tell at the time, simply a prep for a route race. I think Mandella might have changed plans and entered him in the Ancient Title because he ran so well, and also because he was looking for another tightener before the BC Dirt Mile. I'll be interested to read the post-race quotes, which i haven't gotten around to yet. I did just read that Gayego will go on to the BC Sprint, but that was kind of a foregone conclusion anyway.
VICTOR ESPINOZA, CROWN OF THORNS, SECOND: “I got excited there for a moment. He ran unbelievable today for this being his second race back from such a long layoff. He saved ground, everything went well. I think he’ll improve off of this for the next one.”
I would assume he's talking about the Dirt Mile here, but i really don't know. Haven't seen any quotes from Mandella yet.
I know she isn't a 2 year old, but watch out for Cuvee Uncorked. She was unbeaten in two starts, until her stakes debut 15 days later, where she was second by half a length.
2yo firster for Dallas Stewart had worked the fastest furlong at the February Ocala Sale (9.3), and quickly rushed up to engage the 6/5 favorite Flower Exchange here through a blazingh opening quarter of 21.75. She had already gone clear of that one by the time they hit the turn, and she hit the half-mile in 45.35 while extending her lead into the stretch. Very fast, and just tons the best here. What makes this really noteworthy however is that she totally spaced out around midstretch, racing very erratically and then actually hitting the rail and getting her hind end knocked out from under her (clearly visible on t he head-on replay). Ended up finishing the race in a slow 59.17 (with a snail-like 13.82 final furlong), and saw her winning margin shrink to just a length or so at the wire. So on paper, it will appear that she ran out to a big lead, then tired badly and almost got beat. Nothing could be further from the truth. Should be some definite value on this filly when she turns up in stakes company next time out.
Yeah, i know. Thanks for the hbeads-up though. I actually missed her when she ran @ Monmouth, a good thing as it turned out because she lost @ 4/1. It really kinda bothers me though that she got clear in that Monmouth race and then coughed up the lead. She had an excuse @ Saratoga, but i don't know if she had one @ Monmouth (CalRacing isn't carrying replays from there anymore). Albarado back on board today, but there's also a lot of early speed lined up to oppose her. Doesn't figure to have an easy time of it up front, and i have to wonder if that stretch incident @ Saratoga might have taken something out of her. Doesn't look like she missed any training, but i wouldn't have expected her to lose up there. I'm going against her today; there's another filly in the race i like quite a bit.
This comes straight from my website. He's entered today but i don't know if he's running; all Belmont races are off the turf. Scratches haven't been announced yet.
Belmont - Race 9
#3 Mr. Vegas (12/1 ml)
I must be seeing things with this morning line. Simply unreal. Yet another case of Beyers not telling the whole story. I honestly haven't seen many debuts better than this one. The trouble started as soon as the gates opened, as he was broke VERY slowy, then he was being steadied repeatedly while in tight as he tried to make his way through the crowd on his way up the backstretch (having already made up the lost early ground to regain touch with the pack). Never did get any room to run, at all, though you could see that Prado clearly had a ton of horse under him as he helplessly waited for an opening. I already knew the horse had won the race when i was watching this replay for the first time, and i sat here in front of my computer at the top of the stretch wondering just how in the hell he did it (didn't seem possible at the time). Finally around midstretch a small hole opened, and Prado shifted this guy pretty sharply out into the open thru another pretty tight spot, and then you could really appreciate this horse as he took off like a shot after the leaders. Still looked to be in pretty bad shape in deep stretch but he basically just put his head down and bulled his way right thru the two leaders like they were just a minor inconvenience. Reminded my of Lit De Justice a bit, and that's saying something. I know i'm being effusive in my praise here, but like i said, i was very excited by what i saw. Just looked like a man among boys out there. Speaking of which, he's a pretty big horse with what looked to be a very large stride, though he never really got to show it off too much. Didn't look like today's extra distance will be any kind of problem for him, quite the contrary in fact. Pretty tough stretchout here from 5.5 furlongs to 1 1/16 miles, especially considering the class jump, but i'm confident he's the best horse in the race, and like i said i think he may be even better going long. And anything resembling a clean trip won't hurt him either. Lastly, the turf course was listed as "good" when he ran, so i would have to assume the course had some water in it, though the opening quarter looks awfully fast to have been run on any kind of soft ground. It would seem to help his case here, as there's no doubt the course will be a little soft here (perhaps a lot soft), assuming they keep the race on the grass at all. Tempted to call this play turf-only, but i'd be lying if i said i wasn't going to back him on whatever surface he runs on today. Besides, if the race comes off the grass and Hushion thinks it's a problem, he'll likely be scratched anyway (UPDATE: just checked on the Belmont website and the race is indeed off the grass. No word on scratches yet). Hope they get the race into this guy because i think he may be the Juvenile Turf winner. Perhaps even the Juvenile winner, who knows. Obviously, i HIGHLY recommend watching the replay. He broke from the 2-hole but he's wearing saddlecloth #1. Have a look, and enjoy.
This is unbelievable. Mr. Vegas was scratched last time because the grass stakes he was entered in was taken off the turf.
Now today, it was raining in New York and all the turf races were taken off the grass. And apparently the forecast is so bad, tonight's Yankee game has already been postponed until tomorrow.
Thanks for the heads-up. I'm really excited about the race, just wish the course wasn't soft. It might even be to his benefit though, who knows. He did win on a "good" course in his debut, so i have to assume there was some water in it.
Comments
2yo from the not-so-hot Steve Knapp barn had worked a furlong in 10.0 at the March Barrett's sale, one tick off the show's best, which was accomplished by only one horse. Went off @ 8/1 here and was off a bit slowly after hitting the side of the gate, but moved up well to assume a stalking position along the rail while behind horses and clearly full of run. Pretty much remained there until midstretch when he was visibly crying out for some running room before finally splitting horses and coming after the leader, who had already gotten away at that point. Did very well to be beaten just a half-length at the wire after really finding his stride late and cutting quickly into the margin with every jump. Shouldn't be a maiden for long.
Gallant Gent ran second by a neck today. Tough beat.
I gave this filly out today; here's what i had to say about her on my website:
Saratoga - Race 4
#8 Sure as Gold (7/2 ml)
Expensive 2yo purchase for Pletcher brought over 20 times the sire's stud fee at the April Keeneland sale after working a furlong in 10.0, one tick off the show's best. She's also coming out of a heads-up drill with Ibboyee, who won a maiden race in 110.3 back on August 3. Looks very live here, and should be a decent price thanks to the half-sister to Speightstown who's coming out of the McLaughlin barn (who btw has been terrible with 2yo firsters at the meet).
In the race today, Sure as Gold blew the start and was off several lengths last, but then showed a good burst of speed while being rushed up to join the pack. She settled near the back once that was over, and then started making another fine move while coming widest of all around the turn to mount a challenge into the lane, grinding away late to finish second by a length. Considering she lost well over a length at the break, and had to use up some early energy while being rushed back into contention after the gate incident, it's rather obvious she was best here. And that was just my initial impression; the gate incident looks even worse on the head-on replay, where you can see that she took a complete right-hand turn leaving the gate and was headed for the outer rail. She was seperated from the rest of the field by literally about half the racetrack shortly after leaving the gate. Time of the race was slow, but clearly there's more under the hood here than it will look like on paper the next time she's entered.
Just ran across this article on Gallant Gent on the DRF website:
POMONA, Calif. - Trainer Craig Lewis will be a busy man Wednesday at Fairplex Park, where his six entrants include a potential single in a pick six with a carryover of $44,782.
Gallant Gent, runner-up last month in a good allowance at Del Mar, is favored to win the $50,000 C.B. Afflerbaugh, a seven-furlong stakes for 2-year-olds that is race 10 on an 11-race card. So is Gallant Gent a single?
"He hasn't done anything to disappoint me so far," Lewis said. "We think he's a good horse. We'll find out."
The evidence is in already. Lewis claimed Gallant Gent for $40,000 from a July 3 debut at Hollywood Park in which he overcame significant trouble to win by a neck.
He subsequently won a maiden-40 starter at Del Mar before finishing second by a head in a first-level allowance. Gallant Gent got beat by Court Mischief, who returned Saturday to finish second in a stakes at Golden Gate. Did the runner-up finish by Court Mischief flatter Gallant Gent?
"Unequivocally," Lewis said. "It was [Court Mischief's] first race around two turns, he went fairly quick, and got beat by an undefeated horse," referring to Our Minesweeper.
Court Mischief earned an 80 Beyer, which validates the 80 earned by Gallant Gent.
Martin Pedroza rides Gallant Gent in the Afflerbaugh, formerly a stakes for older horses at 1 1/16 miles. The conditions of the Afflerbaugh have changed, along with the Fairplex 2-year-old program, now geared exclusively to sprints.
Gallant Gent worked a sharp five furlongs Sept. 10 at Fairplex and is the 8-5 favorite on the track's preliminary line. His main rival could be Grace Upon Grace, runner-up in the Graduation Stakes July 29 at Del Mar before adding front wraps and finishing fifth on Sept. 7. David Flores rides Grace Upon Grace.
Other Afflerbaugh contenders include Ishmael, claimed for $62,500 off a maiden win by trainer John Sadler, and Color of Courage, two lengths behind Gallant Gent last out. The longshots are Towser, Swiss Exploit, and Pico Pico.
Lewis entered the 2009 Los Angeles County Fair meet as the seventh all-time leading Fairplex trainer with 75 wins. His other entrants Wednesday include Warren's Cowgirl, an also-eligible in race 2; Dine at Nine, even money in race 3; longshots Deluxe Cat in race 5 and Easy Moment in race 8; and 7-2 second choice Balfour Park in race 9.
2yo firster from the obscure Mark Glatt barn had worked the fastest furlong @ the Barrett's sale earlier this year, but went off at a juicy 8/1 here, due mostly to the connections. Unfortunately, he got body-slammed from both sides when leaving the gate and ended up way back off the early pace as a result. Showed a lot of moxy thereafter when making his way towards the front while racing inside, eventually coming to challenge for the lead at the top of the stretch but still being caught down inside and behind horses, having to wait a bit before he could get into the clear. Once out into the open, the winner had gotten away from him, but he was able to re-break and outfinish another horse for second (who happened to be a well-bet Baffert entrant). Ran a heckuva good race here, and after sticking around to watch the head-on replay it was pretty easy to determine that Brady Blue Eyes had been best. Could still offer a very nice price next time out, as he was beaten about 3 lengths at the wire and it'll look as if he doesn't have much speed on paper (and of course Mark Glatt will help the price as well). Should show much-improved speed with any kind of clean break next time out, and will likely be pretty tough to beat. Keep an eye out for him.
Belmont - Race 9
#3 Mr. Vegas (12/1 ml)
I must be seeing things with this morning line. Simply unreal. Yet another case of Beyers not telling the whole story. I honestly haven't seen many debuts better than this one. The trouble started as soon as the gates opened, as he was broke VERY slowy, then he was being steadied repeatedly while in tight as he tried to make his way through the crowd on his way up the backstretch (having already made up the lost early ground to regain touch with the pack). Never did get any room to run, at all, though you could see that Prado clearly had a ton of horse under him as he helplessly waited for an opening. I already knew the horse had won the race when i was watching this replay for the first time, and i sat here in front of my computer at the top of the stretch wondering just how in the hell he did it (didn't seem possible at the time). Finally around midstretch a small hole opened, and Prado shifted this guy pretty sharply out into the open thru another pretty tight spot, and then you could really appreciate this horse as he took off like a shot after the leaders. Still looked to be in pretty bad shape in deep stretch but he basically just put his head down and bulled his way right thru the two leaders like they were just a minor inconvenience. Reminded my of Lit De Justice a bit, and that's saying something. I know i'm being effusive in my praise here, but like i said, i was very excited by what i saw. Just looked like a man among boys out there. Speaking of which, he's a pretty big horse with what looked to be a very large stride, though he never really got to show it off too much. Didn't look like today's extra distance will be any kind of problem for him, quite the contrary in fact. Pretty tough stretchout here from 5.5 furlongs to 1 1/16 miles, especially considering the class jump, but i'm confident he's the best horse in the race, and like i said i think he may be even better going long. And anything resembling a clean trip won't hurt him either. Lastly, the turf course was listed as "good" when he ran, so i would have to assume the course had some water in it, though the opening quarter looks awfully fast to have been run on any kind of soft ground. It would seem to help his case here, as there's no doubt the course will be a little soft here (perhaps a lot soft), assuming they keep the race on the grass at all. Tempted to call this play turf-only, but i'd be lying if i said i wasn't going to back him on whatever surface he runs on today. Besides, if the race comes off the grass and Hushion thinks it's a problem, he'll likely be scratched anyway (UPDATE: just checked on the Belmont website and the race is indeed off the grass. No word on scratches yet). Hope they get the race into this guy because i think he may be the Juvenile Turf winner. Perhaps even the Juvenile winner, who knows. Obviously, i HIGHLY recommend watching the replay. He broke from the 2-hole but he's wearing saddlecloth #1. Have a look, and enjoy.
Mr. Vegas is now scratched, btw. Son of a bitch.
As for Gallant Gent, it's a very tough spot for him today, but maybe he's up to it. God Knows he wouldn't come as much of a shock. I'm personally going in another direction, but i'll use Gallant Gent in an exacta for sure. Figures to pay very well if it comes in. And i'm off to a good start with exactas today, lol.
Unfortunately, the horse I was going to use scratched, but needless to say I'll be playing against Lookin at Lucky
Brady Blue Eyes (off @ 4/1) indeed showed much-improved speed yesterday, going right out to the front and the opening up a nice lead into the lane, but unfortunately he got tired and couldn't hang on.
Sure as Gold is entered in Race 2 @ Belmont today.
Supreme Summit goes in 5min in a G1 at huge odds.
I was on the second-place finisher Crown of Thorns (8/1). Here's the write-up from my website:
Santa Anita - Race 8
#6 Crown of Thorns (5/1 ml)
Loved this horse as an early-season 3yo last year (thought he was perhaps the top Derby threat at the time), but i have to be honest and say that i gave him virtually zero chance to win his comeback race last time out when racing 6 furlongs vs. the exceptionally strong sprinters Supreme Summit and M One Rifle. I was then shocked at how well this guy ran (finishing third behind the other two, but only beaten just over a length at the wire). Watching the replay again this morning, i was probably most impressed by the way he gave away ground (to a couple of very good horses) while stalking from the rail and then swinging wide into the stretch, basically trying to circle those two. He then matched strides with Supreme Summit down the lane, even starting to close the gap very late and missing by less than a length to that guy after Supreme Summit had enjoyed the much preferable trip. It also serves to reason that Crown of Thorns will be much tighter for this one than he was for the comeback race, which came after a 19-month layoff. He also seems to possess the currently-preferable come from behind running style, and the pace should be hot up front. Not much separating this guy from Supreme Summit of course, and it's worth noting that Supreme Summit improved nicely in his previous second-start-off-the-bench, but i think Crown of Thorns will offer the better price here and perhaps has even more room to improve than does Supreme Summit. There's also some chance that Supreme Summit could be compromised up front, depending on how close Migliore puts him (also note that Gomez jumps off Supreme Summit to ride Gayego here). Mandella has already mentioned a potential BC Dirt Mile start for Crown of Thorns, so it would seem he's expecting another good effort today. So am i. Slight edge in what looks like a pretty contentious race; definite value here.
I boxed Supreme Summit/Gayego/Crown of Thorns and played a small win wager on SS. Nice write up on CoT. He did look very good on his return. Should be a major player in the sprint ranks again soon.
I would assume he's talking about the Dirt Mile here, but i really don't know. Haven't seen any quotes from Mandella yet.
RUNNING TODAY AT KEENLAND..
Mr. Vegas is entered on Sunday @ Belmont, Race 6
Now today, it was raining in New York and all the turf races were taken off the grass. And apparently the forecast is so bad, tonight's Yankee game has already been postponed until tomorrow.
2B Fenway Faithful Early
3X Precipice Trail Early
6 Thunder Brew Early
10 Navy Lieutenant Early
BOth in house guys (Andy Serling and Jason Blewitt) pick Mr Vegas in their pre-show.. That will probably knock the odds down a few